Kevin Durant returns to Seattle, dreams of Sonics championships
Sep 25, 2016, 2:30 PM
Kevin Durant switched cities for the third time in his career this offseason, but for the first time it was by his choice. And during a return trip to Seattle on Friday, he told The Seattle Times about dreams he’d had about celebrating a championship in the city that launched his professional career.
Durant, who was drafted by the SuperSonics with the second overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft as a 19 year old and spent one year in Seattle before the franchise moved to Oklahoma City, returned to Emerald City to unveil a renovated outdoor basketball court at Powell Barnett Park for underprivileged youth. The Kevin Durant charity foundation’s “Build it and they will ball” campaign has built renovated courts around the globe, including in Oklahoma City, his hometown of Washington D.C. and Berlin, Germany. The court benefits the Boys and Girls Club of Seattle.
Durant earned Rookie of the Year honors for the Sonics, even though they had a franchise-worst 20-62 record in his lone season in Seattle. Durant made the NBA Finals with the Thunder during the 2011-12 season and, two years later, made back-to-back conference finals. He told the Times that he couldn’t help but dream when the Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014.
“When the Seahawks won the title, and I was with the Thunder, and we were playing well, I was imagining how the city would have felt with both teams here,” Durant told the Times. “It would have been electric. It would have been something we’ve never seen before – something no city has seen before. But we can dream, man.”
The 2013-14 league MVP created a major stir in the NBA landscape this offseason by leaving the Thunder, who have been reviled by SuperSonics fans, for a Warriors team that set an NBA record with 73 wins last season but lost in the finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers. While Durant said winning a title is foremost on his mind, he’s still rooting for a return of pro basketball to Seattle, a dream that entrepreneur Chris Hansen has apparently not given up hope on, spending $32 million on two parcels of land in SoDo just south of his proposed arena.
“I really wish they get a team here,” Durant said. “We (other players) miss getting back here. We know how it is, so hopefully the team comes back soon.”